Released: 2022
Kelsea Ballerini’s ‘If You Go Down’ is a celebration of unwavering friendship and loyalty. It paints a picture of a bond so strong that one friend is willing to share in the other’s troubles, even if it leads to their downfall.
The song kicks off with a nostalgic reference to Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, indicating a long-standing friendship. ‘We go back like Pontiac seats’ is a metaphor for their history, with Pontiac being a classic American car brand.
‘If I got an aisle with a mess I gotta clean up, I know you’ll be showin’ up with bleach’ suggests the readiness of the friend to help clean up any mess, literally or figuratively. The mention of ‘names we don’t ever speak of’ and ‘nights that have slipped my mind’ hint at shared secrets and forgotten incidents.
The chorus, ‘Cause dirt on you is dirt on me, And we both know our hands ain’t clean’ is a powerful statement of shared responsibility. The ‘dirt’ here refers to secrets, mistakes, or wrongdoings. If one gets into trouble (‘if you go down’), the other will too, showing a strong bond of loyalty.
‘It’s a good thing we’re each other’s kinda crazy, Ain’t no judgment or keepin’ score’ implies acceptance of each other’s quirks and flaws. The line ‘If you rob a bank, I’m your getaway Mercedes’ is a hyperbolic way of saying they’d support each other no matter what.
The verse ‘I keep all your secrets by the dozen, You know where my skeletons sleep’ speaks to the deep trust between them. The line ‘Hypothetically, if you ever kill your husband, Hand on the Bible, I’d be lyin’ through my teeth’ is a humorous exaggeration of their loyalty.
The song ends with the statement ‘Our bodies are buried and they’re in the same ditch, So even if I wanted to, I can’t snitch, 30 to life would go quicker with you’. This is a bold declaration of their commitment to each other, even if it means facing serious consequences together.
